


Betrayal of the Worst Kind

by ArwenaminMaeleth



Category: AU! Tom/ Female OC, Actor RPF, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom, Tom/ Female OC, Tom/Beth
Genre: Betrayal, Cheating, F/M, Partner Betrayal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-19
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-10-12 21:49:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17475581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArwenaminMaeleth/pseuds/ArwenaminMaeleth
Summary: They say bad luck comes in threes. Beth comes home after a rather terrible day at work to come face to face with the third, and final gust of bad luck. A betrayal of the worst kind.





	Betrayal of the Worst Kind

Work. It had been a long and taxing day, but deep-down Elizabeth knew it was not yet finished. Something was telling her that the third gust of bad luck was about to hit her like a hurricane.

Unlocking the front door to her home, Elizabeth trudged inside. The warmth hit her almost instantly, embracing her as she shivered off the winter cold. Making sure the door was shut right behind her, Elizabeth took off her jacket and gloves, hanging them both over the radiator.

It was quiet, and nobody was home. Not yet. Her other half, Tom was still at work, which meant she still had time to shower and pull herself together before he returned.

That was until a thud echoed through the empty halls. The noise sounded like it had come from upstairs, more towards the back of the house. Curious and a little frightened she made her way slowly upstairs, but not before grabbing an umbrella from the coat stand. It was not the greatest of weapons when facing a possible burglar, but it would suffice for the time being.

Carefully she crept up the stairs, taking them one by one. It was then that Elizabeth heard voices. She panicked. Now there was more than one possible attacker in her home.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying her hardest to calm her heart which was threatening to burst out from her rib cage.

Reaching the door to her bedroom, she braced herself. With a shaking hand she reached out to the door handle, grasping it tightly.

The voices sounded out again, only this time a lot clearer. Male. Female. Elizabeth furrowed her brows in confusion. Curiosity overcoming fear allowed her to open the door without a second thought. She threw it open, weapon stretched out before her, ready. 

Whilst she was prepared for a gang of burglars, ransacking her home, she was not prepared for a sight far worse before her. 

Colour suddenly drained from her face. Elizabeth’s emotions took on a battle between anger and shock. Neither could decide which would come first so instead she stood there, speechless.

Noticing that they were not alone, the entangled pair on the bed stopped. Knowing only one other person to have a key to their home, Tom knew instantly who was standing in the doorway. He scrunched his eyes closed, inwardly praying for the ground to swallow him whole.

Grabbing the bed covers he made sure to wrap it around himself and the other offending partner. Although it was a pointless move for there was hardly any dignity left to save.

Elizabeth stood stock still, unable to process what was happening before her eyes. She could barely contemplate the situation, the umbrella falling from her grasp. With a thud the meant-to-be weapon broke her trance.

“Who is she?” 

The offending female questioned before looking to Tom and then to the woman standing in the doorway, confused. If only those words had the chance to come from Elizabeth.

 _The audacity!_  Elizabeth thought.

“That’s my fiancée.” Tom answered, barely able to look said fiancée in the eye.

Elizabeth blinked once, twice. Enough times for the image in her mind to become clear. It was then she realised her greatest flaw. She was not able to scream, nor able to shout when she felt she needed to most. Instead she took the calm approach to her heart breaking.

Picking up the umbrella she turned to leave the room, pulling the door closed behind her. As she reached the half way point of shutting out what she had just seen, she turned to the offending pair and simply said;

“Get dressed. Then leave.”

They weren’t entirely sure who she was asking to leave, her instruction rather vague. Neither of them felt they were in the position to ask so they nodded and obeyed. Sure that her message was clear, she closed the door and made her way downstairs. She felt a little like a stair lift, pushing the button and automatically making her way downstairs without thinking or feeling. Mechanical and robotic.

She walked in to the kitchen and flicked the switch of the kettle. A cup of tea. Surely that would help. As if nothing had happened, she let the hiss of the kettle cover up the bustle from upstairs. Absentmindedly, she dipped the tea bag in her favourite cup. The kettle then clicked, notifying her it was done. Shaking her head she realised she was trying to dunk a teabag in an empty mug. 

_Silly woman, pull yourself together._

One sugar, a little bit of milk.  _Perfect._

Finally, the mug warm in her grasp, she heard the stomping of people coming down the stairs. Elizabeth stayed put, not wanting to give them both the chance to reason with her. Nor did she want to look upon the face of the woman who had clearly captured her fiancé’s interest. 

One sip. The door to the front of the house slammed shut signalling the leaving of one person. Or perhaps both. She wasn’t sure, but she didn’t want to check.

She then heard the shuffle of sock covered feet across the tiles, entering the kitchen. She didn’t need to turn her head to know that he was standing but feet away from her, watching her nervously.

Tom shoved his hands deep in to the pocket of his jeans. Part of him hoped that they would have the answer to his problem somewhere within the depths of the denim. Since when was he unable to form words, to explain himself? How does he explain himself?

Elizabeth wouldn’t look at him, giving all of her attention to the view outside. She noted inwardly that the bird feeder needing filling again. He cleared his throat and took a step closer to her.

“I can’t even begin to tell you how much this hurts.” She spoke finally, her voice but a whisper.

“I don’t know what I was thinking.” This was all he could think to reply for he couldn’t fix her pain, not if he was the one who caused it.

“Clearly you weren’t thinking.” She took another sip of her tea, speaking to him as if they were discussing the weather.

To anyone looking at her, they would instantly think that she didn’t care, that his act of infidelity had not affected her an ounce. Inside was a different story. Her heart was smashed in to a thousand pieces. She almost laughed. It was the same in every failed romance story she had ever read, where someone’s heart was always smashed in to just the right number of pieces, as if each shard had been specifically counted after receiving the fatal blow. Always a thousand, no more, no less. For her, a thousand simply wasn’t enough. Inside she was crying and screaming, shouting too. Why would she not show it? Shout at him and let him know how she truly felt? 

_Why bother?_

There was no way shouting would make the situation and better. As for crying, it would only give him the chance to try and comfort her, to wrap her in his arms and hold her against his warm body. Oh how she wanted him to hold her, so badly. She wanted to feel the softness of his t-shirt caressing her cheek as she rubbed against it, arms wrapped around his waist. She wanted to feel him hold her close, fingertips tracing silly little patterns in to the small of her back as he rested his chin on the top of her head. She wanted to hear him inhale the scent of her shampoo and then listen to him tell her how sweet it smelled.

“I can leave.” He wasn’t sure whether it was a question or not, but he lay it on the table. He wanted her to have the say in what happened. He had no right to an opinion. He was not in any place to have a choice. 

He looked at her, her once sparkling eyes bare of any light. He wanted to reach out and caress the softness of her cheek with the back of his hand. He wanted to hear her laugh as he clumsily fumbled about the kitchen trying to make breakfast. But what he wanted, no longer mattered. 

The glint and sparkle of her engagement ring then caught the eye of them both. To him it was a harsh reminder of the love he pledged to her on that day, the love he had tarnished. For her it was a heavy piece of metal that felt like it was burning through her skin. She felt as though the white gold was acid, bearing her bones painfully. 

She slowly placed the mug down on the counter and held her left hand in her right, sadly inspecting the once beautiful diamond. In the clear cut of the wonderful gem she caught the shattered reflections of herself. She sighed. 

Taking a deep breath she did what she felt was best, she removed the ring from her finger. It was a silent message to the man by her side that she no longer trusted him. He was not worthy of her promise, no longer worthy of being called his.

She placed it on the counter and pushed it away from her, letting it rest there. It was in that moment she decided.

“No, I’ll go. I’m going to stay at my sisters until I figure out what to do about the house.” 

He nodded, looking at the ring laying on the cold surface. He had no choice but to respect her wishes. He only wished she would shout at him, get angry at him for breaking her heart. Instead she remained calm and collected. She was rational and fair. He couldn’t take it as her not caring, for he knew her all too well. He knew inside there was a woman that was breaking apart. 

How could he have been so selfish? He couldn’t even give a legitimate reason for his stupidity. Instead, he put it down to being such a fool. He had a wonderful home with a beautiful woman, but he had strayed. 

Tom couldn’t even pin the blame on lack of intimacy between them. She never held back and refused him her body, or her love. He couldn’t blame alcohol for he was stone cold sober. So why? He didn’t know. Was it the thrill of getting caught? Why was he looking for this kind of thrill?

_Fool._

She finished her cup and then brushed passed him, telling him she needed to pack. That was it. The brushing of her shoulder against his arm. It then hit him what he was about to lose.

He made a sharp turn towards her and grabbed her arm, stopping her from walking further away from him. 

She did not pull away, but she did not want to stay. She stopped and kept her back to him. She willed him to let her go because she knew if he began to beg, if he pleaded for her to stay her resolve would break.

“Don’t leave me, Beth. Don’t go.” There. He started it.

She shook and took a deep breath, wishing tears back.  _No, you won’t fall for it._

“I love you.” He dared to add.

That was it. Not only had he torn her heart apart, he broke her resolve. He smashed down the barrier she had put up to stop the pain. Her eyes filled quickly with tears and she put no effort in to holding them back. Her shoulders shook with her relentless tears.

He closed the gap between them and held her from behind. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, afraid to let go. His taller frame towered over her, but he did not care. He wanted to kiss her, to make it all better. 

Elizabeth placed her arms over his and allowed them that one final embrace. She cried in his arms but not in the way a lover should. She felt him bury his face in to the crook of her neck, whispering his pleas against her soft skin. He inhaled the scent of her perfume again and again. She then felt the wet droplets falling on to her shoulder, making its way down her body and soaking in to the material of her jumper.

They stood like this for a few more minutes, savouring their last moment together.

“Please don’t leave me.” He begged.

“I have to. I can’t stay here.”

“I’ll do anything.”

“You can’t.”

He pulled her tighter to him, hoping to keep her with him but it was all in vain. She untangled their bodies and took the first step to separating them. He felt cold all of a sudden. 

She didn’t turn back to look at him. Almost running up the stairs to their cursed bedroom. It was no longer theirs. It felt strange to her. The bedsheets were stained with guilt and with the other person’s pleasure.

She could barely look at it. The stained sheets, the same ones they had both loved each other on. She sobbed, her pain catching in her throat. It hurt.

Doing what she could to get away from it all, she just grabbed what she could. She didn’t care what it was she packed, as long as she had something. Without noticing she pulled out the hoodie she had stolen from him. It was the one which he had draped around her the night their heating had gone. It was large and so warm. Even better because the wool was infused with his scent. Cologne and earthy warmth. 

Shoving her clothes in to a bag and then filling it with bathroom essentials, she zipped it shut and picked it up. She refused to take another look around the room before once again leaving it, closing it shut behind her for the last time.

She came downstairs once again noting him standing in the exact same place she had left him in. His eyes were red, tired and sorrowful. Tears stained his cheeks and glistened in his neatly trimmed facial hair. He looked lost and worried.

She gave him a gentle nod and told him that she would be in touch when she had figured it all out. Out of respect he nodded his own reply and did not push her further. Instead he watched, his own heart breaking as she left him, walking out his life for what felt like forever.

Once the door clicked and settled in to its locked position he wiped his eyes and looked around. All of a sudden, the beautiful hues of blue that decorated the room felt grey. The usual warming smell of vanilla had faded and the plants that adorned their home looked wilted. 

What was once a happy home, filled with laughter, filled with hope, was now a shadow of its former self. 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you have gotten this far then I truly appreciate it. Please take the time to comment and let me know what you thought.
> 
> All the love xxx.


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